Hydraulic fracturing is a well-stimulation technique in which a high-pressure fluid is injected downhole to fracture a subterranean rock. More particularly, hydraulic fracturing involves injecting a high-pressure fluid into a wellbore to create cracks in the rock through which hydrocarbons (e.g., natural gas, petroleum) may flow into the wellbore more freely. The injected fluid may be pressurized by a pump at the surface. The pump may be, for example, a reciprocating pump that includes a power end and a fluid end. The fluid end includes a housing that defines a chamber. One or more plungers may move in a first direction, allowing a lower pressure fluid to flow into the chamber. The one or more plungers may then move in a second, opposing direction, which reduces the volume of the chamber and causes the fluid to flow out to the wellhead. When the flow area in the well is saturated, higher pressure is needed to push the flow through the restrictions caused by the rock formations, thus causing the pressure of the fluid in the chamber to increase.
One or more seals may be positioned (e.g., radially) between the plunger and the housing. The seals may prevent the pressurized fluid from leaking out between the plunger and the housing. The seals may exert a radially-outward force on the housing that may damage the housing. This is oftentimes referred to as a washboarding effect. In addition, the seals have a shorter lifespan than the housing. As a result, when the seals become worn, they may be replaced. However, the seals are part of a seal assembly that is difficult to disassemble from the housing when the seals need to be replaced. Thus, what is needed is an improved seal assembly for the housing.